Two of Russia's closest allies - Belarus and Iran - signed agreements on Wednesday to boost bilateral ties in key areas including defence, both governments said.
Presidents Aliaksandr Lukashenka and Masoud Pezeshkian signed a package of 13 documents in Belarus' capital, Minsk.
Both governments have been placed under heavy international sanctions, limiting potential trading partners.
Pezeshkian said Iran would help Belarus to "neutralise" such measures, citing Tehran's decades of experience circumventing Western economic restrictions.
Lukashenka told Pezeshkian that Belarus was "ready to cooperate with you on all issues — from providing your country with food to military-technical cooperation," calling the Iranian president a "friend."
The two parties did not disclose any further details on how the countries intend to cooperate in the defence sector.
Other areas covered by the agreement include industry and tourism, as well as joint initiatives in science, technology and education.
The two presidents also said their countries would start work toward a strategic partnership treaty.
The Ukraine connection
Lukashenka, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory as a staging ground for Moscow’ full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and later allowed the deployment of Russian tactical nuclear missiles.
Iran has supplied Russia with drones, notably the Shahed, for use in the war and Pezeshkian signed a strategic cooperation treaty with Putin in January, although it did not include a mutual defence clause.
The Iranian president's visit to Minsk has been postponed several times due to US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Lukashenka called the strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure "a serious threat to regional and international stability and security."
"We support Iran’s legitimate right to develop peaceful nuclear energy," Lukashenka said.
